Everlasting Sky
by Stainless Moon
Summary: Life has been peaceful for moons between the Clans, with no war and no disputes, but something dark is stirring behind the tranquility. When the calm before the storm ends abruptly, young Thundersky realizes that what she had to fear were not the threats of the living, but the vengeance of the dead.


Hullo, everyone! It's been so long, but I have a new story here for y'all! As for my other story, _Linking the Far Past to the Far Future_, I might continue it. There's no guarantees, as my writing style has changed quite a bit since back then (four years I think), but if I ever do it will be a partial rewrite because some of the scenes in it make me cringe when I read it haha

*As a side note, Less (the original author/creator of this account) will no longer be writing, so it'll be just me! We were co-writers for this account but now she's passed it on to me fully so I hope I can do her stories/ideas justice! You guys can continue to call me Less, it's the name that we both went under so that'll be no problem~

But without further ado, here's _Everlasting Sky_!

_No major warnings for this chapter. Mentions of character death, violence, some gory descriptions, so if you can't handle those things please consider your safety before reading!_

* * *

**EVERLASTING SKY**

Thunderpaw watched attentively as she sat at the edge of the training grounds. She caught a glimpse of her mentor's dull brown coat as Deerpelt straightened up. Keeping her sea-blue eyes at half-mast and trained on her mentor, Thunderpaw slinked forward, her paw-steps as light as air.

Rounding a bush, she got a good view of her mentor's opponent. His storm-gray coat was dappled beneath the tree's shade and she observed silently as he launched himself at Deerpelt again, his form a mere blur of white, gray, and black. Stormpaw snarled and pounced.

Letting out a low growl, Thunderpaw warned the two of her presence. Deerpelt turned a little too late and was met with a flurry of sheathed paw-jabs and a lightning-fast blur of dark brown and beige.

Side by side, Thunderpaw and Stormpaw met the dusty tabby blow for blow. "'Bout time you showed up," Stormpaw drawled out of the corner of his mouth. Thunderpaw smirked, lashing out a front paw. Deerpelt dodged effortlessly, but her brow was furrowed in concentration.

"Mm, I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not." Thunderpaw mused, a challenging glint in her eyes. Stormpaw chuckled.

"That's what I thought."

Deerpelt narrowed her eyes and launched herself up, catching Thunderpaw by surprise. The apprentice yelped and collided with the ground painfully. Deerpelt glared down at her apprentice, her night-blue eyes fierce and her paws fastened rather tightly on the dark brown apprentice's shoulders.

"Next time, focus on the battle and not on running that mouth of yours." She hissed, her tail flicking irritably. Thunderpaw schooled her expression into one of a chastised kit. Her brow furrowed and turned up, and her eyes widened.

"S-sorry, Deerpelt," she mumbled. Although the façade of hers fooled no one, nobody liked scolding someone who looked like a kit caught sneaking out of camp. Her mentor sighed before relinquishing her vice grip and backing off. Thunderpaw scrambled to her paws, shaking the sand from her pelt.

Stormpaw looked on, a smirk ever gracing his features. As the trio turned to return to camp, he quickened his pace so that he fell in alongside her and bumped his shoulder against hers. "Nice one," he commented, a dark undertone of amusement lacing is voice.

Thunderpaw smirked. "I do try," she countered with mock modesty. The two shared a laugh, causing Deerpelt to look back at them, rolling her midnight eyes good-humouredly.

"Come on, you two, I can hear Somberstar calling a meeting. We'd better be present. I'll also let Cardinalnose know about your progress, Stormpaw."

"Yes ma'am!" they both chorused in unison, Stormpaw pricking his ears at the mention of his mentor. Deerpelt chuckled and plunged into the camp entrance. Without hesitation, Stormpaw and Thunderpaw burrowed in after her.

Sunlight lit the camp clearing, illuminating the already gathered group of cats, their array of colors glinting in the sun. Deerpelt headed straight for the senior warriors while Stormpaw separated from her to join his brother, Bumblepaw. _The stripe brothers,_ Thunderpaw mused amusedly.

As Somberstar began, she glanced around before spotting a familiar golden pelt. Her best friend, Sunpaw. Hurriedly, she padded in her direction and sat down a paw-length away. Sunpaw glanced at the dark apprentice from the corner of her sea-green eyes.

"'Bout time you showed up," she mumbled under her breath. Thunderpaw glanced at her in amusement. Sunpaw raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Sorry, just got a sense of déja-vu, s'all." she mewed, laughing quietly. Sunpaw shot her a weird look before shrugging and turning her attention to the front.

"…new warriors to name." Somberstar was saying. Thunderpaw hummed in interest. Somberstar swept his dark ocher gaze around to pin-point Sunpaw, and then moved on to her brother, Emberpaw. "Sunpaw, Emberpaw, please step forwards."

Sunpaw blinked once, trying and failing to look surprised. Everyone knew this was coming. She rose slowly and picked her way to the front beside her brother, who had eagerly scampered forward in less than a heartbeat. Thunderpaw nudged her friend as she passed. "Congrats." Sunpaw smiled, whispering her thanks.

Somberstar gazed down at the two littermates; their identical fiery pelt alit with sunlight. "Do you two promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect your Clan with your lives?"

"I do." The siblings vowed, their voices joining together. Somberstar smiled in approval.

"Then from this moment on, Emberpaw, you will be known as Embernight, in honor of your blazing loyalty and uncanny tracking skills." Embernight's eyes glinted proudly and he puffed up his chest.

"Sunpaw, you shall now go under Sunfur, symbolising your fiery pelt and sunny personality."

The Clan raised their voices to a clamor, welcoming the two as new warriors into their midst. Thunderpaw looked on, her voice mingling with her Clanmates'. She locked eyes with Sunfur and smirked, mouthing _"Sunny personality?"_ Sunfur giggled, sticking her tongue out.

As the siblings made their way back into the ranks of the Clan, their Clanmates swarmed over them like a cloud of angry bees, their joined purring vibrating along the camp walls. Thunderpaw ducked and weaved through the throng to reach her best friend.

"Nice name, Sunfur! Suits your _personality_ completely!" she called. Sunfur laughed, glancing at the brown apprentice over the head of her mother, Doetail.

"Jealous?" the golden warrior called back, smiling teasingly. Thunderpaw rolled her eyes.

"Very." she mewed. A chuckle sounded off to her left and she craned her neck to look. Stormpaw stood by her, his face wearing his usual trademark smirk.

"Don't you fret, darling, we'll be warriors in no time." he teased, laughing when Thunderpaw wrinkled her nose at the pet name.

"Darling?" she protested, looking indignant. Giggles met the end of her sentence and she turned to find Inkypaw watching the three. The night-black she-cat had just recently been apprenticed, and Thunderpaw had taken it upon herself to look after the dainty she-cat and now saw her as a sister.

"Inkypaw! Stormpaw's being mean to me!" Thunderpaw fake-wailed, pulling a sad face and racing to the little cat, ducking behind her small form and pulling her close with a forepaw. Inkypaw giggled when Thunderpaw snuffled loudly into her ear and pushed the older apprentice away.

"Eeww…" The black apprentice reached a paw up and rubbed her ear. Thunderpaw pouted.

"You're being mean, too? Now who do I turn to for comfort?" she wailed, plunking down and burying her muzzle under her paws.

Deerpelt and Cardinalnose padded past, rolling their eyes and exchanging amused and exasperated glances. Cardinalnose stopped and prodded her apprentice with her blood-red nose, belly round with kits.

"Stormpaw, what'd you do this time?" she asked half-heartedly, not really expecting an honest answer.

"Nothing at all!" Just as she thought. With a sigh and a fond smile, she reached forward and nipped his ear lightly before walking off, conversing softly with Deerpelt.

Both Thunderpaw's and Stormpaw's respective emotions flip-flopped, Thunderpaw grinning smugly while the gray tom yelped in protest swiped at his ears.

Suddenly, a piercing cry cut through the air and Moontail rushed into camp, her kinked tail waving, followed by Liquidnight and Sagewhisper.

"Sun-high patrol's back!"

"Wonder what happened? They look like they've been chased here by monsters straight off the Thunderpath!"

Moontail skidded to a halt before whirling right back around, her paws shaking and claws unsheathed. Liquidnight and Sagewhisper followed her lead, baring their teeth despite their obvious terror.

Somberstar shouldered his way through the crowd of gathered cats. "Will somebody please explain what's-"

He was abruptly cut off when the dull thumping of paw-steps echoed, drawing closer. Liquidnight took a shuddering breath. "They're here!" he breathed.

His sentence was met with wordless murmuring, his Clanmates glancing around worriedly.

"What's-"

An eerie wail broke through Cardinalnose's soft inquiry and the fur on Thunderpaw's hackles lifted at the sound of that unearthly noise. Suddenly, forms hurtled through the camp entrance and threw themselves at the Clan members.

Shocked exclamations engulfed the gulley as the cats were washed into battle. Thunderpaw cried out as a heavy paw swung at her and missed her nose by a hair. The owner of the paw let the limb drop heavily and advanced upon Thunderpaw with an awkward, limping gait.

_What in the name of…?_

She dodged another swipe, lurching to the side. The cat lumbered past her clumsily before slowly turning to face the brown apprentice. Her brow furrowed in confusion as the weird creature lunged at her again, this time tripping over its own feet and bringing Thunderpaw down with it.

Its heavy weight pinned her down, making it almost impossible to get back up. She batted at the _thing_'s face with sharp claws, but it didn't seem to hinder it in the slightest.

The creature parted its jaws, filling her nose with the stench of decay. She flinched when strands of saliva dripped from its gaping jaws and onto her face.

Suddenly, the weight was lifted and the creature lurched to the side. Glancing up, her green eyes met with familiar emerald orbs._ Stormpaw!_

Almost shaking with relief, she clambered to her paws, her eyes conveying her thanks. He gave a short nod and turned to face the strange cat. Almost at once, his eyes widened.

"Willowfire!" he gasped. Thunderpaw blinked, wondering why he would choose to blurt out his deceased grandmother's name in the heat of battle. Curious, and slightly wary, she turned her gaze to the creature, gasping when she got a good look at it for the first time.

Its entire body was rotting, with bits of flesh hanging off its sides and its fur missing in clumps. It eyes were cloudy and unseeing and the stench of crow-food rolled off it in waves. But, wait! Getting a closer look at its fur, she realized that the ginger and silver, now mixed with a sickly green, looked hauntingly familiar.

"Is that…?" she demanded, blinking in shock. Stormpaw stood frozen as his seemingly _un_dead grandmother hobbled forwards. It reached out a paw to hook his nose as he stood stock-still.

Thunderpaw seized the chance and barrelled into the thing, clenching her jaws shut to avoid breathing in any unwanted aromas. Squeezing her eyes shut, she wrapped her claws around its neck and sank her claws into its throat. With a croaking moan, it shuddered and lay still.

Backing away, she glanced around. Sure enough, she began to recognize many other familiar coats that should have stayed where they were buried. A flash of crimson: Redeyes, whose body had been found mangled and torn. A blur of white-and-black: Stormwing, ambushed and killed by rogues. An awkwardly moving deformed bulk of orange: Gingersnap, whose body had been crushed under the seasonal avalanches.

Turning, Thunderpaw approached Stormpaw cautiously. "It alright now, it's gone." she soothed. Surprise seized her throat as his weight unexpectedly crashed into her and she collided with the hard ground for the third time that day. Grunting, she stared up at him in shock.

"Stormpaw, what in the name of StarClan-?" Paws shook her shoulders furiously.

"What'd you do that for, huh?" Stormpaw's eyes were glazed over with anger. "You just killed my grandmother!"

Thunderpaw jumped up, hurtling Stormpaw off her. "She tried to hurt you! She was already dead! But for some reason, the dead decided to come back and attack us! I'm sure she would never have wanted to harm us!"

Stormpaw hissed angrily at her. "You didn't have to kill her again! Isn't dying once enough?!"

Thunderpaw stared at him, hurt constricting her throat. "I saved you!" she cried, pinning her ears to her head and trying to push down the tightening of her throat.

Stormpaw remained unfazed. "You _killed_ your _Clanmate_!" he growled, eyes dark with rage. Not believing her ears, Thunderpaw back off, shaking her head.

"But I saved _you_!" she repeated, her voice strained. _Why is my voice shaking? I swear, if my voice cracks, I'll kick myself!_

The white patches on his shoulders rippled. "You should have let me get hurt!"

Thunderpaw snarled, though her throat was getting tighter by the second. "I'd never let anything, _anything,_ hurt you, Stormpaw! You're my Clanmate, for StarClan's sake!" she added, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

But instead it made him angrier. "I'm not a little kit! I can defend myself! I don't need anyone to _take care_ of me," he spat the words out like they were poison in his mouth.

"And I most certainly don't need you!"

The silence that followed his outburst made Thunderpaw's ears ring. The sounds of the surrounding battle faded out until they were mere whispers. All she saw was Stormpaw, his shoulders heaving in fury, his eyes shadowed and dark, locked onto hers in a fierce glare.

At that moment, she had never seen anything so terrifying, so heart-breaking, that made her want to cry out. A whimper escaped her throat as sorrow pooled in her gut. She nearly let go of her invisible dam to let her emotions flow freely, almost hoping that he'd take back his biting words.

Instead, she schooled her expression into one of indifference. "Fine," she ground out, breaking their eye-contact and staring off to the side. Idly, she noticed that the ground was stained with blood. Whose? She didn't care to know.

Stormpaw opened his jaws as if he were about to say something, but he didn't. Glancing at her one last time with dark eyes filled with an unreadable emotion, he turned and disappeared into the fray.

All at once, like someone had turned everything into slow-motion and now decided to turn it off, everything came roaring back at her and she squared her shoulders. Locking her sight onto a limping, oddly formed body hobbling towards a living cat, she lunged forward and hooked her claws into the thing's scruff.

An odd screech tore from its mangled throat as Thunderpaw dragged it off of a creamy pelt. A familiar, _living_, creamy pelt. She didn't recognize this one, making it easier for her to snap its neck and drop the now limp body.

Sandpelt scrambled to his paws, shaking out his fur. His dark amber eyes were shadowed. "I recognized him." he croaked, jerking his head to the still form. "It was Antscar, Somberstar's father."

He locked eyes with Thunderpaw, and she shrunk under the intense stare. "Are the…the _dead_ attacking us?" he whispered, horrified. Thunderpaw nodded grimly.

Sandpelt sank to his haunches, gazing around with haunted eyes before coming to a stop and staring at a certain spot. Thunderpaw craned her head and followed the line of his gaze to see Somberstar wrestling with a muscularly lumpy white and vomit-green coat.

"Surely Somberstar's noticed by now." Sandpelt voiced. Thunderpaw shrugged helplessly, curling and uncurling her tail against the floor anxiously.

Suddenly, as if commanded by a single, unheard voice, the dead froze in their tracks and backed off, their blank gazes staring at nothing as they whirled and streamed through the camp entrance.

Nobody made a move to go after them, and everyone stared uncomprehendingly at the decayed beings that left as suddenly as they had come.

* * *

Thunderpaw shuffled backwards, her teeth clenched on a particularly stubborn branch. Sighing, she spat it out and plunked down on her haunches, glaring heatedly at the branch, hoping that it might melt the wooden limb and make it more portable.

"Hey, glaring at that thing ain't gonna make it move on its own," Thunderpaw glanced over her shoulder and grinned.

"Inkypaw! Care to lend your big sis a paw?" she called, whapping her tail against the straggly branches.

The black she-cat nodded eagerly and scampered over, clenching her jaws around the limbs. Thunderpaw purred.

"Thanks, Inkypaw," she mewed, bumping the smaller apprentice's shoulder with her own. The black apprentice smiled, her ice blue eyes twinkling.

"No problem!"

After the unexpected attack, Somberstar had withdrawn to his den to converse with his deputy, leaving the rest of the Clan to patch up the dens.

As they threw all their strength into it, pushing it slowly but steadily across to the nursery, they were both seemingly unaware of the pair of dark orbs watching them. A gray tail lashed and the eyes flashed uncertainly before they turned and vanished from the camp.

As soon as the pair of she-cats managed to haul the branches to the nursery and prop them against the brambly side walls of the structure, Thunderpaw's eyes darted to the shadows of the camp walls where the figure had perched. They narrowed slightly before she turned her gaze away.

As she averted her eyes back to Inykpaw, she was surprised to see the apprentice gazing at her with a mix of emotions. Thunderpaw could only make out two: sympathy and understanding.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she demanded. Inkypaw didn't blink.

"I saw you two. During the battle, I mean." the black apprentice mewed softly. Thunderpaw widened her eyes at the significance of those words. Inkypaw seemed to notice, yet continued anyway.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. You know how close he was with Willowfire. He was heartbroken when she died, and with the stress of battle already weighing him down, he probably couldn't stand to see her die again when he could prevent it."

Thunderpaw growled, glancing away to glare at the ground to her right. "But I saved him!" she protested. "He could've shown at least some gratitude. It – Willowfire – was about to hurt him!" Hurt clenched around her throat and she swallowed forcefully. "Why can't he see that I was just trying to help him?"

Inkypaw's eyes softened and she leaned forward to touch her muzzle comfortingly to Thunderpaw's shoulder.

A sudden call rang across the clearing before Somberstar's familiar form appeared over the rise of the Tall Rock. A blur of black followed and Duskmist leaped up beside his leader. The deputy stayed by Somberstar and the two looked like dark shadows with their matching shady pelts.

The Clan dropped what they were doing and bounded up to settle by the great rock, casting shadowed glances at one another.

Thunderpaw plunked herself down next to Crowtune, a young tom who had been made a warrior directly after the attack. His ceremony was a dark time, as few of his Clanmates congratulated him. Most knew that it was done to fortify the Clan. SeaClan needed warriors if it was to survive.

The red-and-black tom turned his peculiar yellow-green eyes to give Thunderpaw a friendly glance, his calico white patches rippling along his shoulders. Thunderpaw smiled back, trying to look reassuring. She knew that he was still shadowed by the memories of his tense ceremony.

Across the camp, she saw grey movement and noticed Bumblepaw, Stormpaw's brother, settle down beside Sunfur, the two exchanging a worried glance. They leaned closer together and began to whisper something. Thunderpaw assumed that they were speculating about the attack, but moments later, Bumblepaw and Sunfur glanced in Thunderpaw's direction.

They seemed startled to find the dark apprentice looking back at them, for they dropped their gazes and shifted away from each other, but not before exchanging another glance and looking behind Thunderpaw's shoulder. Thunderpaw narrowed her eyes and glanced behind her.

Stormpaw's somber brown eyes met her own. Thunderpaw jolted, unsure as to when the gray apprentice had gotten behind her. A second later, Stormpaw averted his gaze and turned his head to speak to Embernight.

Anger burned in Thunderpaw, and she turned her gaze back to the front with a huff. Surprisingly, she felt a warmth press into her side, and she realized that she was pulled flush against Crowtune. The young warrior smiled at her, his bright green eyes refreshing her after the heated stare that Stormpaw had given her.

"I heard what happened from Bumblepaw," he murmured, his tone sympathetic. "I'm sure he didn't mean it. Willowfire was close to him."

Thunderpaw contemplated shrugging the tom off, annoyance pulsing in her. Seriously, does everyone know about that? Her core burned in infuriation, but then she relaxed. Crowtune was just being helpful, she reminded herself. As she loosened her tenseness in his warmth, she had to admit that it felt quite nice.

Managing a smile, she shook off her anger and focused on Somberstar's words.

"Cats of SeaClan, my fellow Clanmates, that attack was most unexpected. The appearance of our ancestors as these…monstrosities," he paused, shuddering before continuing, "has spelled out dark times ahead for us."

Thunderpaw's Clanmates murmured amongst themselves, worry plastered on each face as they turned and whispered in hushed tones to one another.

"Oh, now, this is not good." Crowtune murmured sadly. Thunderpaw nodded agreement, shivering at the memory of those soulless black sockets that stared at her with a blankness only found on the faces of the deceased.

Inkypaw piped up somewhere behind her. "Do you think they'd listen to us if we asked them to stop?" Her question was a ridiculous sentiment, although Thunderpaw could see several glimmers of hope arise. In such dark times, any sane creature would grasp onto a spider's thread of hope, if given the chance, she mused, blue eyes glinting.

Somberstar chuckled, a putting on a smile that didn't match his eyes and shook his head. "Your peaceful way of thinking is commendable, young one, but we could only wish that it was so easy."

Duskmist brushed her tail against her leader's shoulder in comfort as Inkypaw's tail drooped. "Cats of SeaClan," the deputy began, "We are faced with extreme challenges ahead of us, along with many unanswered questions that I know all of us must have." Murmuring filled the clearing, but died down at a brisk flick of her tail as Duskmist's eyes swept across the camp.

She paused, tail-tip twitching, before continuing. "We must have faith in StarClan, and hope that our ancestors will send a sign to show us the way."

An unidentifiable emotion flashed briefly across Somberstar's face. The dark-pelted leader had remained silent as his deputy spoke, but now he took a pace forward. "Meeting adjourned. I will make sure the patrols are increased and that the other Clans are warned of this at the next Gathering."

A silence settled over the Clan as Somberstar turned and retreated back into his den, Duskmist promptly following as she beckoned at Mossgaze, the medicine cat, to do the same. As the three cats disappeared, the rest of the cats stirred, picking themselves up and exchanging comforting looks. Thunderpaw shook herself out of her stupor, brow furrowed as thoughts raced in her mind.

"Don't worry, I'm sure our ancestors will tell us what to do." Crowtune's voice made her jump. She turned and frowned at him.

"Well I'm not gonna wait around waiting for them to figure this out for us," she mewed, ear flicking in annoyance, "We've got to do all we can to help." Without waiting for his answer she turned and padded away towards the nursery where Inkypaw was already back to fixing the walls of the den. Crowtune stared after her, stunned, before smiling softly.

"Yes, I suppose we do." He murmured.

* * *

"Three, two, one!"

With one last heave, the last branch was in its place. Thunderpaw plopped herself down on her haunches with a relieved sigh. Inkypaw placed a small white paw on the weave of branches to steady the pile before joining Thunderpaw and curling into the dark apprentice's side.

"Finished." Thunderpaw puffed out her chest in slight pride. "And it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself." She grinned, nudging Inkypaw with her shoulder. The black she-cat rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Now, shouldn't you be having a nice chat with a certain someone?" she asked, blue eyes mirroring Thunderpaw's. The latter frowned in confusion, ears twitching, before her eyes cleared with realization. She opened her jaws to protest but cut herself off at the insistent look in Inkypaw's eyes.

"Yeah, sure." She sighed in resignation, heaving herself to her paws and turning to look for a familiar silver coat. Inkypaw's blue eyes watched her closely before getting to her paws and padding away and into the dim den that the apprentice's shared.

At the camp entrance, Thunderpaw caught Stormpaw's scent and raised a brow. What was he doing outside the camp? She stared at the entrance in wonder before shrugging and pushing through. Inkypaw probably wouldn't let her back into their den without speaking to Stormpaw anyway.

The forest smelled of pine and sunlight, but the lingering smell of decay and dirt could still be detected. Wrinkling her nose, she pushed on into the undergrowth. _Hunting would be a good idea, _she mused, _and the Clan needs all the food we can get. _Dropping to her haunches, she let her tail brush ever so slightly against the forest floor, resting it in the dirt.

For a moment time seemed to slow as the forest stilled, as if waiting for the dark-furred she-cat to make a move. Then her ears flicked up, swivelling around to the left and her eyes snapped open. _Paw-steps, faint but I can still…just…sense it. _Dropping even lower, she inched forward with steely determination, the sandy forest floor brushing against her belly fur as she crept.

The paw-steps became more and more distinct as she moved, growing loud just as she reached the edge of a thicket. Eyes narrow, haunches up, and tail down, she pounced. Her paw made a dull thump as it collided with the forest floor; _only_ the forest floor. Confused, she straightened, looking around. There should have been something there, and she didn't hear anything moving away, so why didn't she catch anything?

Her answer came soon enough. Ears pricked, Thunderpaw realized that she could still hear the paw-steps. Frowning in confusion, she cocked her head. _I'm not even close, and yet they're already this loud? There's no way they belong to any sort of prey._ Shaking her head in confusion, she bounded forward only to recoil a second later. A strong stench hit her nose, so repulsive that she felt like she'd been clobbered by a badger paw. This scent…was just like the ones that those abominations carried! Alarmed yet curious, she nosed forward, eyes narrowed against the terrible smell.

A sudden flurry of rapid paw-steps rushed towards her and she jumped, fur bristling in fear. She was about to turn tail and run when she caught another scent, this time familiar. The bushes in front of her rustled and parted and a large gray shape collided with her, sending her reeling from the impact.

An angry and alarmed yowl tore through her throat and she lashed out blindly at the attacker, her hind legs instinctively kicking out and successfully dislodging the nameless form. They landed in a heap, a heavy breath escaping them as the breath was forced out of their body. The lull in their fight allowed Thunderpaw to fully see her attacker and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's just you."

A very dishevelled and angry Stormpaw got to his feet, eyes set in a fierce glare. "What was that for?! You nearly gave me a heart attack, appearing out of nowhere like that!" he growled. Thunderpaw watched, bemused.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line? You kind of just tackled me, you know. Besides, I'm a warrior-in-training, how else was I supposed to react?" she countered.

Stormpaw rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of – c'mon, we've got to move before they sense us." He jabbed her in the side with a paw and turned, disappearing into the undergrowth. Thunderpaw blinked before hastily stumbling to her paws to follow him. She raced along his scent trail before catching up, nipping lightly at his shoulder.

"What are you doing? What it going on? Before _who_ senses us? What were you even doing back th–"

Stormpaw's tail slapping against her mouth was enough to silence her onslaught of demands. "Quiet, you! I'll explain when we get back to camp. For now, just focus on keeping quiet!" he hissed, effectively knocking the retort out of her mouth.

Thunderpaw rolled her eyes. "Yeesh, grumpy pants! Whatever, sure." _At least we aren't arguing anymore, _she thought with pleasant warmth.

The two apprenticed nosed through the ferns and into camp, huffing for breath. Sagewhisper, positioned as guard, jumped to her feet at the sudden movement but quickly settled down again when she saw who it was. "Great StarClan, where have you two been? Deerpelt and Cardinalnose nearly started a search patrol for you!" she reprimanded. Thunderpaw and Stormpaw winced and offered twin sheepish grins.

"S-sorry, Sagewhisker…but we have news for the Clan!" Stormpaw went on excitedly, dark brown eyes wide. Sagewhisker shot him a look of exasperation.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. But before that, might I advise you to watch out?" she _mrrow_ed, eyes locked on something behind the two apprentices. Exchanging a look of confusion, they turned before dread settled in at the sight of two advancing shapes, looking very menacing and _very _angry.

Deerpelt reached them first, cuffing Thunderpaw firmly around the ear. "Where have you two been? Cardinalnose and I almost gathered a search patrol to find you!" she growled.

"Yeah, we know." Thunderpaw mumbled sullenly. Deerpelt lashed her tail in aggravation as Cardinalnose joined her, looking less angry and more worried.

"Oh, what would Starlingflight think of you now? Dashing off to who-knows-where to play hero and causing such a fuss!" Deerpelt meowed harshly. Thunderpaw flinched at the mention of her mother, her previous glum look vanishing into anger.

"I wouldn't know, she's dead! And so is my father, so I wouldn't know about him either!" she snapped, shouldering past her mentor and stalking away. Deerpelt watched her, all anger gone as sadness and guilt filled her eyes. She stumbled as Stormpaw pushed past her, flashing her a dark look as he padded after his denmate.

He stopped to throw a few words behind his shoulder, "Also let Somberstar know that we might have found where those…abominations came from." He waited a heartbeat to let his words sink in before padding away.

"I didn't mean to…" Deerpelt whispered in dismay. Cardinalnose gave a soft sigh, touching her nose to her friend's shoulder in comfort.

"I know, and I'm sure Thunderpaw knows too. But you did cross a line, and you should try and make it up to her soon," the queen soothed, giving Deerpelt one last reassuring look, she turned and padded back to the nursery, her monochrome pelt disappearing into the den.

Deerpelt watched her go before sighing and padding to the fresh-kill pile, hooking a mouse and settling down to eat.

* * *

"Hey, Thunderpaw, you in here?" Stormpaw called softly, sticking his head in the dim den. The den was empty save for a dark tabby-calico pelt hunched in the corner. He sighed, a rare fondness settling across his features as he slid into the den and silently crossed to the she-cat. He paused for a heartbeat when he reached her before sighing, a soft smile on his face as he pressed a muzzled to her shoulder.

Thunderpaw made a soft sound in the back of her throat before falling silent once again. They stayed like that for a few more moments before she spoke.

"How could she say that?" she whispered, brow furrowed. Stormpaw rolled his eyes good-naturedly and gave an uncharacteristically soft laugh.

"C'mon, we both know she didn't mean it. Deerpelt has a sharp tongue but she's all talk and no bite. For her Clanmates, at least," he joked in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. Relief cross his features when Thunderpaw gave a soft giggle.

Gradually, her sea-blue eyes softened and she uncurled herself. "Thanks, Stormpaw," she murmured, pressing her muzzle to his briefly before her soft expression was replaced by her normal grin. The gray tom ducked his head, not used to hearing such sincerity from her.

"Yeah, don't mention it," he meowed, returning her grin. Thunderpaw gave him a light nudge as she moved to slip out of the den. "Oh, and Thunderpaw?" he called. She turned inquisitively. He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Uh, I never met – I mean I don't know much about your parents but, um, I'm sure they would be proud of you."

He inwardly winced at his clumsy attempt at comfort and fidgeted uncomfortably as Thunderpaw stared at him with an undecipherable gaze. A heartbeat passed before a bright grin lit her face and she let out a short purr before slipping out of the den. Stormpaw, reassured by her reaction, huffed a sigh of relief before shaking his head and padding out after her.

_Thank StarClan, I really dodged bear-trap there, _he thought. As he joined her by the circle of apprentices digging into fresh-kill, he paused, sending a fleeting thought up to the sky, where Silverpelt was starting to appear. _What about you, Daisy, Rain? Are you proud of me too?_

He waited for a heartbeat before scoffing lightly and shaking his head, resuming his trek to his denmates. _What am I doing? I don't believe in that StarClan stuff. _Behind him, the stars twinkled gently. A brief flash of light streaked through the sky before disappearing silently and the stars continued shining.

* * *

So, should I continue this one? This is written for my pleasure, so I'll most likely continue writing, but I won't post the chapters here if you guys don't want this continued c:


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